Overview
| Stage | Production |
| Mine Type | Underground |
| Commodities |
|
| Mining Method |
- Longhole open stoping
- Avoca
- Cemented backfill
- Paste backfill
|
| Production Start | ...  |
| Mine Life | 2025 |
The Forrestania Operation includes two underground mines, Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll, and the Cosmic Boy processing facility. |
Source:
p. 70
| Company | Interest | Ownership |
|
IGO Ltd.
|
100 %
|
Indirect
|
On 20 June 2022, IGO Limited acquired 100% of the issued capital of Western Areas Limited (Western Areas). Western Areas was an ASX listed Australian-based mining and exploration company with a portfolio of operating and development stage mines. It owns a 100% interest in the Forrestania Operation (consisting of the Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll underground mines and the Cosmic Boy processing facility) and the Cosmos Project, both located in Western Australia, together with a substantial exploration portfolio.
Contractors
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Summary:
Forrestania’s camp of nickel sulphide deposits is hosted by a sequence of ~2.9Ga meta-igneous and metasedimentary rocks that are part of the Forrestania Greenstone Belt (FGB) of the Youanmi Terrane of the Eastern Yilgarn Craton.
Forrestania’s nickel deposits is the ‘Kambalda-style’ Type 1 and Type 2 models where nickel sulphides are interpreted to have accumulated in channelised komatiitic lava flows. Many of Forrestania’s deposits are often tectonically displaced from the original depositional locations and have been deformed and/or dismembered by one or more local and/or regional post-depositional tectonic events.
The main deposit type is the komatiite hosted, disseminated to massive nickel sulphide deposits, which include the Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll deposits. The mineralisation occurs in association with the basal section of high MgO cumulate ultramafic rocks.
The greenstone succession in the district also hosts several orogenic lode gold deposits, of which the Bounty Gold Mine is the largest example.
Mining Methods
- Longhole open stoping
- Avoca
- Cemented backfill
- Paste backfill
Summary:
Flying Fox is Western Areas first producing underground mine and remains one of the highest grade nickel mines in the world. Production commenced in 2006, and the underground mine now operates at depths of over 1km underground.
The Flying Fox orebody extends from 250m to 1.2km below the surface and includes discrete independent orebodies with possible extensions at depth. The primary stoping method used is ‘top- down’ long-hole stoping using paste-fill to attempt 100% recovery of the high-grade orebody. In the narrower sections of the orebody both modified Avoca with unconsolidated and cemented rock-fill are used.
The Spotted Quoll orebody is open at depth with the mine currently planned to just over 1km below the surface. The primary stoping method is a ‘top-down’ mining method using long-hole open stoping with paste fill. The narrower and shallower areas are mined using top-down narrow vein techniques.
Source:
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Source:
Summary:
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Production:
| Commodity | Units | 2023 | 2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|
Nickel
|
t
| ...... ^ | ...... | ...... | ...... | 21,060 | 23,005 |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in concentrate.
^ Guidance / Forecast.
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Operational Metrics:
| Metrics | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|
Annual production capacity
| ...... | | | | |
|
Ore tonnes mined
| ...... | ...... | 556,002 t | 607,120 t | 591,778 t |
|
Tonnes milled
| ...... | ...... | 610,487 t | 616,598 t | 617,808 t |
|
Annual processing capacity
| ...... | ...... | 550,000 t | 550,000 t | |
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Reserves at June 30, 2022:
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Probable
|
2.89 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.92 %
|
56 kt
|
|
Indicated
|
9.19 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.43 %
|
175 kt
|
|
Inferred
|
3.25 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.26 %
|
48 kt
|
|
Total Resource
|
12.45 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.79 %
|
223 kt
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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